The programme for Opera North's new production opens with a plea for private investment ahead of anticipated funding cuts. Franz Lehár's operetta is the perfect titbit for a financial crisis, as it concerns the fiscal anxieties of a small European state whose entire GDP has ended up in a flighty young widow's jewellery drawer.

Pontevedro, in Giles Havergal's enticingly louche production, is one of those po-faced principalities whose chief characteristic is taking itself just a little too seriously. Now that the death of its leading investor has rendered Countess Hanna Glawari stupendously wealthy, it is imperative that her money remains in the country. Unfortunately, Hanna and her millions are in Paris, having a fine time at the Belle Epoque fleshpot of Maxim's.

Having inherited the country's entire capital reserve, it is clear that Stephanie Corley's Hanna intends to wear it: she makes a sparkling entrance in a blaze of bling. Yet this striking young soprano, making her Opera North debut, has a diamond-sharp delivery that is never outshone by her costume. William Dazeley is delightfully bluff as her old flame, Danilo, determined to prove he cares for her on her own account, rather than her bank account. Wyn Davies conducts with a panache that locates Lehár's subtler colours – the violin nocturne that precedes the final act is every bit as exquisite as the rambunctious waltz.

But the honours for all-round accomplishment go to Amy Freston, whose coquettish Valencienne is vibrantly sung, and who dashes off a breathtaking can-can routine that concludes with the splits. Now that's versatility.